This invention relates to methods and systems for managing signaling and communication sessions across networks, and particularly relates to a scalable methodology and system for managing telephony over hybrid networks such as combined switched telephone networks and packet switched internetworks, such as the Internet.
Attention recently has been directed to implementing a variety of communication services, including voice telephone service, over the worldwide packet data network now commonly known as the Internet. The Internet had its genesis in U.S. Government programs funded by the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA). That research made possible national internetworked data communication systems. This work resulted in the development of network standards as well as a set of conventions, known as protocols, for interconnecting data networks and routing information across the networks. These protocols are commonly referred to as TCP/IP. The TCP/IP protocols were originally developed for use only through ARPANET but have subsequently become widely used in the industry. TCP/IP is flexible and robust. TCP takes care of the integrity, and IP moves the data.
Internet provides two broad types of services: connectionless packet delivery service and reliable stream transport service. The Internet basically comprises several large computer networks joined together over high-speed data links ranging from ISDN to T1, T3, FDDI, SONET, SMDS, ATM, OT1, etc. The most prominent of these national nets are MILNET (Military Network), NSFNET (National Science Foundation NETwork), and CREN (Corporation for Research and Educational Networking). In 1995, the Government Accounting Office (GAO) reported that the Internet linked 59,000 networks, 2.2 million computers and 15 million users in 92 countries. However, since then it is estimated that the number of Internet users continues to double approximately annually.
In simplified fashion the Internet may be viewed as a series of packet data switches or xe2x80x98routersxe2x80x99 connected together with computers connected to the routers. The Information Providers (IPs) constitute the end systems which collect and market the information through their own servers. Access providers are companies such as UUNET, PSI, MCI and SPRINT which transport the information. Such companies market the usage of their networks.
FIG. 3 shows a simplified diagram of the Internet and various types of systems which are typically connected. Generally speaking the Internet consists of Autonomous Systems (AS) type packet data networks which may be owned and operated by Internet Service Providers (ISPs) such as PSI, UUNET, MCI, SPRINT, etc. Three such AS/ISPs appear in FIG. 3 at 310, 312 and 314. The Autonomous Systems (ASs) are linked by Inter-AS Connections 311, 313 and 315. Information Providers (IPs) 316 and 318, such as America Online (AOL) and CompuServe, connect to the Internet via high speed lines 320 and 322, such as T1/T3 and the like. Information Providers generally do not have their own Internet based Autonomous Systems but have or use Dial-Up Networks such as SprintNet (X.25), DATAPAC and TYMNET.
By way of current illustration, MCI is both an ISP and an IP, SPRINT is an ISP, and the Microsoft Network (MSN) is an IP using UUNET as an ISP. Other information providers, such as universities, are indicated in exemplary fashion at 324 and are connected to the AS/ISPs via the same type connections here illustrated as T1 lines 326. Corporate Local Area Networks (LANs), such as those illustrated in 328 and 330, are connected through routers 332 and 334 and high speed data links such as T1 lines 336 and 338. Laptop computers 340 and 342 are representative of computers connected to the Internet via the public switched telephone network (PSTN), and are shown connected to the AS/ISPs via dial up links 344 and 346.
In the addressing scheme of the Internet, an address comprises four numbers separated by dots. This is called the Internet Protocol address, or IP address. An example of an IP address would be 164.109.211.237. Each machine on the Internet has a unique number assigned to it which constitutes one of these four numbers. In the IP address, the leftmost number has the greatest weight. By analogy this would correspond to the ZIP code in a mailing address. At times the first two numbers constitute this portion of the address indicating a network or a locale. That network is connected to the last router in the transport path. In differentiating between two computers in the same destination network only the last number field changes. In such an example the next number field 211 identifies the destination router.
When a packet bearing a destination address leaves the source router, the router examines the first two numbers in a matrix table to determine how many hops are the minimum to get to the destination. It then sends the packet to the next router as determined from that table, and the procedure is repeated. Each router has a database table that finds the information automatically. This continues until the packet arrives at the destination computer. The separate packets that constitute a message may not travel the same path depending on traffic load. However, they all reach the same destination and are assembled in their original order in a connectionless fashion. This is in contrast to connection oriented routing modes, such as frame relay and ATM or voice.
It would be difficult for most people to remember the four separate numbers (sometimes having ten or more digits) comprising each numeric IP address. In addition numeric IP addresses occasionally change, making it even more of a problem for people to keep track of them. The Domain Name System (DNS) was developed to provide some relief from these problems. In the DNS system words, which are more easily remembered, are used instead of numbers.
An example of a textual Domain Name is Evoit@HUT.MB.COM. Each of the names separated by a dot is called a domain. The significance of each of the domains is the reverse of that of the numeric IP address. In the numeric IP address, the most significant numbers were on the left and the least significant on the right. The textual Domain Name System begins with the least significant on the left and proceeds to the most significant on the right.
The top-level domains, those of the most general significance, are as follows:
1. COM A commercial operation
2. EDU A university, college or other educational institution
3. GOV A government organization
4. MIL A military site
5. ORG Any organization that does not fit into any of the preceding
6. NET A network
There are now two-letter domains, each denoting a different country, which are atop the above original domain names. An address ending in xe2x80x9cCOM.AU,xe2x80x9d for example, would be a commercial operation in Australia. Over a hundred different countries are now connected to the Internet so the list of two-letter country codes is ever increasing. Computers associated with the Internet called domain name servers convert textual domain names into numeric IP addresses.
Recently, one or more companies have developed software for use on personal computers to permit two-way transfer of real-time voice information via an Internet data link between two personal computers. In one of the directions, the sending computer converts voice signals from analog to digital format. The software facilitates data compression down to a rate compatible with modem communication via a POTS telephone line, in some cases as low as 2.4 kbits/s. The software also facilitates encapsulation of the digitized and compressed voice data into the TCP/IP protocol, with appropriate addressing to permit communication via the Internet. At the receiving end, the computer and software reverse the process to recover the analog voice information for presentation to the other party. Such programs permit telephone-like communication between Internet users registered with Internet Phone Servers.
Such programs have relied on servers coupled to the Internet to establish voice communication links through the networks. Each person active on the network, who is willing to accept a voice call, must register with a server. A calling party can call only those persons registered on the voice communication server. Also, the address management provided by these servers, like that provided by the domain name servers, has not permitted any individualized control of routing. For example, a user could register only one current address and must reregister each time the user comes on-line with a new address. The registration server provides no automatic selection of alternate destinations.
Concurrent with recent developments in public packet data communications such as the Internet, outlined above, the telephone industry has been developing an enhanced telephone network, sometimes referred to as an Advanced Intelligent Network (AIN), for providing a wide array of new voice grade telephone service features. In an AIN type system, local and/or toll offices of the public telephone network detect one of a number of call processing events identified as AIN xe2x80x9ctriggersxe2x80x9d. For ordinary telephone service calls, there would be no event to trigger AIN processing. The local and toll office switches would function normally and process such calls without referring to the central database for instructions. An office which detects a trigger will suspend call processing, compile a call data message and forward that message via a common channel interoffice signaling (CCIS) link to a database system, such as an Integrated Service Control Point (ISCP). Each ISCP includes a Multi-Services Application Platform (MSAP) database.
If needed, an ISCP can instruct the central office to obtain and forward additional information. Once sufficient information about the call has reached the ISCP, the ISCP accesses its stored data tables in the MSAP database. Using those tables it translates the received message data into a call control message and returns the call control message to the switching office of the network via CCIS link. The network switching offices then use the call control message to complete the particular call. An AIN type network for providing an Area Wide Centrex service, for example, was disclosed and described in detail in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 5,247,571 to Kay et al., the disclosure of which is entirely incorporated herein by reference.
As shown by the art discussed above, the Internet and the AIN have remained separate, independent areas of technical development. Many telephone service subscribers are accustomed to enhanced telephone features, such as those provided by AIN processing. However, the wide range of conditional routing options offered by AIN type processing have not been available on the Internet. For example, the address processing provided by the domain name servers and the registration servers used to exchange addresses for voice communication have not permitted alternate treatments for different times, different calling parties, different destinations of roaming subscribers, etc. An enhanced domain name server which enables conditional routing and which is capable of wide database applications was disclosed and described in detail in commonly assigned Eric A. Voit U.S. application Ser. No. 08/812,075, filed Mar. 6, 1997. The disclosure of that application is entirely incorporated herein by reference.
As use of the Internet expands, particularly for transport of voice telephone communications, a need exists not only for enhanced address management but also for distributed and scalable customer account authentication, authorization, usage recording, usage pricing billing account management, and inter carrier interfaces. The enhanced domain server described in the above incorporated Voit application Ser. No. 08/812,075 lends itself to serving in this capacity.
Voice over internetworks, and particularly the Internet (V/IP), involves terminal equipment affiliated with various networks. V/IP services can be divided into at least four categories based on the type of network to which the users"" terminal equipment is attached, such as Internet/Intranet or narrowband Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) or POTS (plain old telephone service) telephone network. These four categories are:
1. Personal Computer (PC)xe2x80x94PC
2. PCxe2x80x94Telephone
3. Telephonexe2x80x94PC
4. Telephonexe2x80x94Telephone
Existing V/IP implementations over the Internet are subject to best-effort quality of service (QoS). Typically, this is noticeably degraded as compared to xe2x80x9ctoll qualityxe2x80x9d service. In addition, it is subject to significant variations. There is a need for improvement over these existing implementations both in level and consistency of QoS. The QoS should be such as to be perceived by end users as consistently supporting comfortable conversation similar to that which users are accustomed. Preferably the QoS should be equivalent to xe2x80x9ctoll qualityxe2x80x9d voice service.
Residential and business customers on the PSTN are accustomed to the availability of enhanced calling features and it is desirable to provide personal dialing directories, ability to use multiple point to point connections at the same time, multi-line conferencing capabilities, and full duplex operation. Authorization and security features should be supplied, as well as user access to billing and usage accounting relating to their own accounts.
It is a primary objective of the present invention to satisfy the needs which have been described.
The present invention addresses those needs by providing a robust and scalable customer account management database within the packet switched network. This database may act as manager of all transactions for a particular customer account. Each Internet telephone service subscriber will have at least one billing and authorization account maintained in a database on the Internet. During set-up of a call, the hop-off gateway will obtain identification and password information from the caller. The gateway then communicates with the database to determine if the call is authorized and to negotiate the overall billing algorithm. When the call is finished, the gateway will report usage data to the database for billing purposes.
Another objective is to provide an overall internetwork architecture that will permit the development of Internet Telephony Gateways (ITGs) capable of dealing with existing problems on a scalable basis. For example, in view of the fact that there is no xe2x80x9coriginating switchxe2x80x9d to generate billing records for an internetwork caller, there is no present system for providing a generation site which will implement a unitary presentation of customer account usage, and also support extraction of data from the network on a real time basis. There is no present architecture for ensuring customer authentication and billing beyond a limited number of customers.
It is another objective of the invention to implement a system to inform a customer of the pricing rules for a call prior to call connection and to report the price of the call in real time visually or orally.
It is yet another objective of the invention to provide a system to implement the handling of multiple, concurrent calls terminating at different ITGs using the same billing account number and preventing overrun of a preset account spending limit.
It is a still further objective of the invention to ensure that such a system will operate properly in situations where the ITG is owned by a different company than the owner of the customer account.
It is another objective of the invention to provide a mechanism for reducing the potential for fraud.
According to the invention usage recording, pricing, and authorization are bundled into one logical object. This eliminates the separation between authorization and billing processes and significantly reduces the potential for fraud in a regionally deployed system. By having a single logical database which is managing customer authentication, authorization, and usage pricing for the overall network, a transaction-based approach to updating data is possible. This minimizes opportunities for fraud based on exploitation of temporary inconsistencies of partitioned or replicated data bases. There is no requirement that this logical object be implemented as a single physical system.
The single logical element or object is invoked during a call when an authorization request is received. This request may consist of an account number and password provided by a PC user to be authenticated. At this point the logical database processor checks the account password and available account balance. If the password is correct and the remaining balance in the account permits the call to be established, the object responds affirmatively to the Internet Telephony Network (ITN). Call Control Object which includes the Internet Telephony Gateway (ITG). The database retains data indicating that a call associated with that account is in progress. In such an architecture mutual authentication by the Call Control Object and ITG and the database is preferable, as is a secure (such as by encryption) call transaction between them.
In providing the authorization, the database object will evaluate the customer account status to determine if there are multiple connections currently in service, possibly across multiple ITGs. With this state information, the authorization function of the system may ensure that only one call per account is being handled by the network, and/or ensure that the maximum billing limit is not being circumvented by multiple concurrent sessions. In the absence of such a precaution, a second PC caller using the same account and password might receive authorization for a call prior to the posting of the first caller""s usage record. Optionally, in order to handle low billing amount availability without denying a call completely, the database object may respond to the ITN with a maximum allowable call duration.
Another feature is that the database object may reserve a predetermined remaining balance on the account for the call so that additional calls related to that account will not result in exceeding the account""s limit. The database object may return the pricing algorithm for the usage to the Call Control Object and ITG, which will pass it on to the PC user. In this way the PC user knows the initial charge and ongoing per minute rate for the usage. This is particularly important when the Call Control Object and ITG is owned by a different company than the database object. The user desires to know the rates that will be charged prior to completing the call. The PC is such as to be able to receive and utilize the algorithm, and display pricing to the PC user. The PC may also present the total charge being incurred by the user on a real time basis as the call progresses.
After the completion of the call, the database object is also responsible for accepting usage recording data which has been generated by the Call Control Object and ITG, pricing the usage, and decrementing that priced amount from a customer""s available balance. The database object then logs the final call data. Preferably the Call Control Object and ITG also logs and maintains the call detail information. This feature is very useful in the situation where the Call Control Object and ITG and the database objects are owned by different companies. In this case, the database object data can be used by the owner of the database object to manage the customer account. In addition, the Call Control Object and ITG data can be used by the owner of the Call Control Object and ITG to charge the database object for the completion of the call over its facilities. In effect this Call Control Object and ITG data becomes the basis for a usage based settlement interface between carriers.
Preferably the database object is partitioned and may be distributed. A database object partition may be made by a field identifying the carrier owning the customer account, a sub-field within the customer account number (such as NPA-NXX), the customer""s telephone number, the customer""s e-mail domain name, the customer""s originating IP address, or some other field. Each partitioned database may then be placed on its own physical system. With such a partitioned customer account data architecture, it becomes possible to divide the totality of all managed accounts into implementable sub-groups in a straight forward manner.
It is an objective of the invention to provide a code based means of querying a distributed database of codes which allows automatic accessing of the pertinent physical instance of the database for approval.
It is another objective of the invention to provide such a database and functionality on a scalable basis.
Additional objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows, and in part will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon examination of the following or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and attained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims.